With experience in finance, consulting, venture capital, and entrepreneurship coupled with a worldwide education, Alessandro has a competitive edge into today's hyper-speed economic environment.
Alessandro has worked in both b2b/enterprise and in more consumer facing roles, leveraging an international network of professionals and a data analytics mindset. He has a deep financial background with deal experience from dealflow scouting to growing opportunities through business development activities and exiting on M&A market. Alessandro has expertise in industries such as telecom, media, technology.
We spoke with Alessandro to learn more about his experience, his most recent project and to understand what he feels the biggest benefit of using an independent consultant is.
Most recent project:
I just completed work for one of the world’s leading executive search companies. This company has developed a consulting division that supports clients in organisational development works and was advising one of the largest European private equity firms on a financial services company they recently acquired. The project required me to interview the top management of the company and assess how the team was working together and the ability of the top management to steer the company’s growth. In a second work stream and using a “text-analytics” tool, in just a few hours I was able to analyse more than 5,000 employee surveys highlighting the key drivers and drags to the organisation.
What makes a project successful?
A project is a success when the organisation is able to agree on a change and execute on the proposed plan. Planning is important, but execution is far more important! A good consultant will drive both the strategy and the execution, empowering the team with all the tools and levers to make it right and will also build a tracking tool to assess the output. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen consultants who do not care about the output and when a project ends are only focused on the next one!
Most significant accomplishment:
The project I am most proud of is a strategic projected I completed during my time at Bain & Co.. The client was a leading brand in motorcycling components and as an avid biker myself that brand truly was in my heart. The company was bleeding money with inefficient manufacturing and the wrong sales strategy; the business plan that I redacted was well executed by the company and resulted in them breaking-even in just 18 months and a successful sale 6 months later.
Best bits of being a consultant?
Independent consulting is not for everyone but for those who get it, it’s a lot of fun! You need to be commercially savvy, you need to possess a network (a real one, not just 10,000 connections on Linkedin), you need to have a focus as there’s plenty of generalist, but scarcity of vertically focused ones and you can grow only if you become “the go-to guy” in a niche.
If you fit in these characteristics then independent consulting is a lot of fun with 0 politics, no strings attached, a lot of fun on projects and with clients you enjoy working with.
Why work with an independent consultant?
There are a lot of advantages on hiring an independent. Clients will mostly look at the cost as they can get a similar output of the “branded” consultancy at a fraction of the cost, but the real advantage is the opportunity to find a senior consultant that has a direct, specific experience in dealing with the issue the client is facing. Whether being a new digital marketplace launch or the due diligence of an asset in Sub-Saharan Africa, you’re covered with real expertise
